Being a big fan of HIGHLANDER, I was naturally excited at the idea of talking to actor Adrian Paul this year at San Diego Comic-Con 2011. Aside from being an incredibly handsome gentleman, he’s also incredibly kind and easy to chat with, which is rather refreshing in world of celebrity interviews. I imagine it’s gotta be a pretty daunting task to essentially take over an enormous franchise like HIGHLANDER, and deal with the rabid fandom surrounding it. But Adrian seemed neither shaken nor stirred, and appears to quite enjoy being involved. I found in endearing that he expressed personal fandom toward Flash Gordon, as I’m a fan of that character as well. Can you imagine Mr. Paul participating in a new version of FLASH GORDON on the big screen? He’d make a great Prince Barin! I also admire his efforts in producing low cost films that look and feel like high quality, as with modern advances there’s really no reason studios have to spend $100 million to make a good movie anymore. Check out his production company FilmBlips for more info on that. But he doesn’t stop there, as his charity site ThePeaceFund is up and running as well. I see so many actors out there who are making tons of money, yet never seem to find time to give anything back to the community, or use their influence to help aspiring filmmakers. Adrian Paul does all of that AND still acts. Check out the video interview below and leave your thoughts in the comments. I apologize in advance for the rough audio – it was INSANELY loud where we were, and it took a while to fine tune the audio so you could hear what we were saying… which is also part of the reason this took so long to post.

About the Author

Born and raised in Dallas, Mark has been a movie critic since 1994, with reviews featured in print, radio and National TV. In 2001 he started the Entertainment section of the Herorealm website, where he contributed film reviews and celebrity interviews until 2004. After three years of service there, he started Bigfanboy.com, which has become one of the Dallas film community's leading information websites. Bigfanboy hosts several movie screenings in the Texas area, and works closely with film and TV studios and promotional partners to host exciting events and contests. The site also features a variety of rare celebrity and filmmaker interviews, and Bigfanboy.com regularly covers the film festival circuit as well. In addition to Hollywood reporting, Mark has worked for many years as an advertising and sci-fi/comic book artist. Clients have included Lucasfilm Ltd., Topps Trading Cards, The Dallas Mavericks and The Dallas Stars. He currently catalogs rare comic books and movie memorabilia for Heritage Auctions, and runs the Dallas Comic Con and Sci-Fi Expo conventions, but remains an avid moviegoer and cinema buff.

3 Comments

LordDio

Posted August 8, 2011 at 7:56 AM

Man,Adrian has to play a role in Spartacus.I loved the interview,but i wanted to know about his relationship with Tessa in real life.

LordDio, he doesn’t have a “relationship” with Tessa, who was played by Alexandra Van der Noot. She’s a Belgian actress. He has been in a long term relationship with Alexandra Tonelli, and together they have a lovely toddler girl, Angelisa. You can find out more at http://www.adrianpaul.net , his official website. He’s also on Twitter, as is Ms. Tonelli.

Mark, you asked some good, insightful questions. You’re a very good interviewer. Thanks for the vid. I know it must have been loud–I know a few people who went to Comic Con. I think you did a great job with Adrian. All of his fans are anxious to see how his new company, filmblips, does–with him at the helm, I know there will be some quality work.

Everyone, do check out thepeacefund.org and keep your eye on the new fundraiser. That’s bound to be exciting too!